


Focus

by sleepydanceur



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 10:53:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7046269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepydanceur/pseuds/sleepydanceur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’s been a little smitten with Chanyeol, the director of finance, since he got transferred to this branch, earning himself the large office on the other side of the department floor, across from Jongin’s.</p><p>Loosely based on this prompt https://twitter.com/chankaiprompts/status/705943550610038784</p>
            </blockquote>





	Focus

**Author's Note:**

> Some Chankai fluff for Ang! ;u; 

“Good morning, Mr. Kim!”

“Morning, Jackson,” Jongin smiles, nodding his head in greeting as he walks through the small department floor to get to his office. 

He pulls the top button of his shirt open the moment he steps inside, already feeling too stuffy and confined though it’s barely even 8am. The computer at his desk whirrs to life when he boots it up, slipping out of his stiff suit jacket in the meantime. 

Jongin has barely even lowered himself onto his chair before the door to his office bursts open and Jongdae, his assistant, marches in with a sheaf of documents and a tablet in hand. 

“Morning, Sleepy,” Jongdae says cheerfully, spreading the documents out on Jongin’s table before him and hands him a fountain pen to sign with. 

Jongin glances over the familiar documents and contracts, skimming through them briefly before signing at the bottom of each one. He’s distracted when Jongdae tsks disapprovingly under his breath and suddenly his fingers are in Jongin’s hair, smoothing down the stubborn locks that Jongin hadn’t been able to deal with before he left home. 

“You look like you literally just rolled out of bed,” Jongdae berates him, nudging Jongin’s head down to deal with the hair at the back. “You do remember that you’re the CEO here right?”

“I know- _ow_ , hyung!” Jongin whines when Jongdae combs through a tangled bunch, yanking at his scalp. Sometimes he forgets he’s the boss in this office when Jongdae goes all big brother mode on him. It wasn’t always this way back when Jongin first hired him, but after Jongdae found him passed out on his desk past midnight, dehydrated and feverish from overworking himself, it seemed to have set his mother hen instinct into motion. 

Jongin huffs at him petulantly when Jongdae pats his head, done with the grooming. Still, he really does appreciate everything that Jongdae does for him, especially when they’re not even part of his job description. 

“Okay so, you’ve got your appointment with the Lee investors in fifteen minutes and then there’s the usual meeting with sales and finance at 9.30,” Jongdae rattles off his schedule from his tablet screen, back to business.

Jongin fidgets, smoothing his tie down over his chest. He tries to gather the documents into a neat pile casually but, as usual, Jongdae sees right through him.

“Chanyeol’s gonna be there too,” he says, just the barest hint of amusement in his voice. Jongin flushes and groans in embarrassment, swatting Jongdae away when he starts to chuckle. 

He’s been a little smitten with Chanyeol, the director of finance, since he got transferred to this branch, earning himself the large office on the other side of the department floor, across from Jongin’s. He thanks his lucky stars that he’d gotten over the phase of getting completely tongue tied in front of a crush a long time ago, making it a whole lot easier for him to actually have a proper conversation with Chanyeol over tea in the kitchen or during lunch break. None of that nervous stammering from back in highschool, thankfully.

Still, that doesn’t stop him from getting distracted, letting his thoughts wander and trying to steal subtle glances when he’s sure no one’s looking. It feels like he really is back in highschool, pining silently over a crush.

Today’s meeting is no different. Jongin can barely focus on the numbers and statistic reports being doled out to him on the powerpoint presentation. His stomach flip flops when Chanyeol starts to talk, giving his weekly report on the company’s weekly financial dealings. Jongin really does try his best to listen raptly but his focus is too scattered, focusing on Chanyeol’s lips instead, following the movement before sliding up to his eyes and lingering there. 

He shakes himself out of it when Chanyeol finally concludes his report, trying to focus on work. He chugs down the rest of his herbal tea in one go, trying to to wince when he burns his tongue.

 

▸

 

“Hey, I’m heading down for lunch, I’ll see you later,” Jongdae says, pulling on his jacket when he walks into Jongin’s office. 

Jongin looks up with a nod, noticing that the office is completely empty as usual now that it’s time for lunch break. They must all be having lunch at the diner across the street again. He slumps a little, sinking in his chair and the leather squeaks sadly under his weight. 

Jongdae seems to read his mind, forgetting the buttons on his jacket to come up to Jongin’s desk instead. 

“It’s not that they don’t like you, Jongin, they do! You’re a great boss,” Jongdae reassures him. 

“Then what is it?” Jongin says morosely. He can see almost everything that goes on outside from his office, watching the rest of the staff laughing and joking around from one cubicle to another while they work. Chanyeol joins them too more often than not. 

“Well, that’s just it,” Jongdae tells him pointedly. “You’re still their boss. There’s that line setting you apart.”

“Clearly there’s no line with you,”Jongin grumbles, smacking Jongdae’s hand away when he tries to straighten his tie. Jongdae snorts, patting Jongin’s swatting hand instead and waves again as he leaves the office. 

“It’s not like I would fire them for cracking a joke in front of me,” Jongin grumbles to himself honestly. Sighing, he takes a bite out of his own sandwich and gets back to work. 

 

It’s another long day of calls and meetings coupled with piles of documents and contracts to go through. They’re on a tight deadline with the handful of deals they’ve been working to close with new investors recently and Jongin is trying to make sure everything is perfect.

It’s already dark outside and Jongdae left hours ago, after the rest of the office emptied out and Jongin urged him to go home too because he was planning on staying here a while longer. There’s a headache growing behind his eyes and the words on the documents are starting to blur into each other the longer he looks at them. Frowning with exhaustion, Jongin runs a hand through his hair roughly, wondering if he should get another cup of coffee even though he hates that stuff. 

“Jongin?”

He snaps his head up at the sudden call of his name, finding Chanyeol standing by the door of his office.

“I saw the light on when I was leaving,” he explains, jabbing a finger back at his own room across the department floor. “I thought everyone else had already left.”

“Oh,” Jongin blinks in surprise, straightening up in his chair. “I didn’t even realize anyone else was still here either.”

Chanyeol takes another step inside, staring at Jongin intently. The tiredness must be starting to show clearly all over his face. 

“Maybe you should take a break,” he says, eyeing the documents scattered across Jongin’s desk. “It’s late.”

Jongin smiles, acknowledging that he’s probably not going to get much more done tonight without collapsing on the papers instead. He presses his knuckles against his temples, hoping the painful throbbing will stop. Nodding, Jongin gets up and gathers his things, slipping into his coat while Chanyeol waits by the door. 

They walk down the corridor to wait for the elevator together, their voices echoing eerily in the silent office as they talk.

“How’s the apartment hunting going?” Jongin asks, recalling that Chanyeol had mentioned something about his lease ending soon. 

“I’m going to see a few places tomorrow actually,” Chanyeol says. “Not sure I can even afford them though.”

“Sounds like fun,” Jongin teases and Chanyeol chuckles, following him into the elevator when the doors open on their floor. 

“It’s alright, some of the guys from the office are taking me out for drinks tomorrow night to make up for it,” he says, sighing tiredly and leaning back against the mirrored wall. 

Jongin blinks in surprise at that then manages to work a smile back onto his face, waving away the crestfallen weight in his chest. 

“Try not to get too wasted or I’ll have to clean you guys off the floor when you get in on Monday,” he jokes weakly, relieved when Chanyeol laughs loudly. 

“I’ll do my best,” he says solemnly. 

The bell dings when they reach the ground floor and they walk out of the building onto the dark streets outside. 

“I’ll see you on Monday then,” Chanyeol waves, turning on his heel. Jongin returns the wave but stands there a while longer, torn between calling out again to say something and just staying wistfully tight lipped. Then Chanyeol rounds the corner and disappears, making the decision for him and Jongin sighs, gripping his coat around himself more tightly and heads over to where his car is parked.

It’s not a long drive home, especially now that it’s late enough to avoid all the rush hour traffic. His apartment is dark and silent when he steps inside, his keys clinking loudly when he drops then on the coffee table. 

He flicks the lights on, staring around at his huge apartment before shuffling over to throw himself down on the couch. Sometimes, the empty silence that hangs in the air gets a little overwhelming. Jongin remembers when he’d tried to get a roommate once, to fill some of this huge space up, but after he’d caught the last one trying to make off with his TV and his microwave, he just stopped trying. This place really is too big for just one person. He hasn’t done a great job of personalizing the whole place yet; something about it still makes him feel too detached from it, like it’s not quite _home_ yet, even though he’s lived here for a few years now. The pang of loneliness rings sharply in his chest and he rests his head back against the couch cushions, closing his eyes. 

He drifts in and out of sleep, so drained from the long day that he can’t even be bothered to move. Chanyeol’s words drift back into his mind, about his attempts to find a new place to stay with a roommate. In his drowsy state, the thoughts stray and he starts to wonder what it would be like if he moved in with someone like Chanyeol. In his mind, he sees a small apartment, barely even half the size of what he has now, and it’s always filled with noise and warmth, maybe with a couple of puppies running around underfoot added to the comfort of someone’s company. Chanyeol’s face appears because that’s the first one his subconscious summons, fitting into everything Jongin thinks he’d probably be happy with. 

Somehow, he regains enough awareness to realize what he’s doing to snap out of it, falling forward to drop his head in his hands with a sigh. 

“What am I doing,” he mutters, lugging himself up off the couch and drags his feet into the bathroom to take a shower.

 

▸

 

“Okay, I got it,” Jongdae holds out a clean white shirt while Jongin unbuttons his own quickly, staring down at the stained, ruined front.

“I can’t believe you actually spilt tea all over yourself just because Chanyeol walked in,” Jongdae snickers, taking the dirty shirt from Jongin’s hands to deal with it himself while Jongin puts on the fresh one. 

“He just startled me,” Jongin grumbles petulantly, leaving the collar button open and slipping his tie around his neck loosely. 

“Right. Sure.” 

Jongin huffs smacking him on the shoulder, though he slides his hand down to squeeze Jongdae’s wrist gratefully for helping him out. 

“You know what?” he says, getting a sudden idea. “We should do something all together, like a company retreat. For team building.”

Jongdae gapes at him, quirking an amused eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, seriously!” Jongin quips excitedly. “We could get one of those cabin sites by the seaside or something. It’ll be fun. And we could use a small break”

Jongdae stares at him carefully but relents when he sees that Jongin actually means it. 

“Alright then,” he laughs, already pulling up reservation sites on his tablet screen. “I guess I’ll make the arrangements then.”

“Great,” Jongin grins, patting him on the shoulder before Jongdae leaves the office to get back to his desk outside. He’ll make the announcement to the rest of the office once everything’s been sorted out. 

Through the corner of his eye, Jongin spots Chanyeol heading into his own office. He can’t help but stare, watching as he slumps down in his chair and smooths down his tie. Jongin wonders if maybe it’d be a good idea to pop over there and tell him about the retreat himself in advance, just as a heads up. 

His palms start sweating the moment he talks himself into getting up, convincing himself to open the door to his office and step outside. 

“Go get him, champ,” Jongdae hums, without even taking his eyes off his computer screen. Jongin throws him a glare anyway and crosses through the department to get to Chanyeol’s office, clearing his throat before he knocks on the door frame. 

Chanyeol looks up, smiling in surprise when he spots him and gets to his feet again. Jongin’s nerves melt away in an instant and he smiles back, stepping inside with a small wave. 

“Do you need the reports?” Chanyeol says, already scrambling to gather the papers together.

“Oh, no no,” Jongin waves his hand to stop him and Chanyeol settles down. “I was just wondering if you were free next week?”

Chanyeol blinks at him, his mouth falling open a little. Jongin suddenly feels his face burn, realizing how it sounds and scrambles to fix his blunder.

“I mean because I’m planning a retreat for the office,” he says in a rush, feeling the back of his neck burn too. Jongdae would be cackling so hard right now.

Chanyeol’s expression transforms with realization, his mouth forming a small ‘o’ shape and he chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Sounds like fun,” he beams sincerely. “I’ll make sure I’m available”

“Great,” Jongin says, pleased. “I’ll get back to you and the others once I’ve got everything settled then.” 

Chanyeol nods, still smiling, and Jongin retreats back to his office, tugging at the collar of his shirt to relieve his neck from the hot flush rising. 

“Smooth,” Jongdae says when Jongin walks past him. Groaning, Jongin shuffles into his office, still feeling slightly mortified.

 

▸

 

They’ve arranged for a bus to come pick them all up from the office building and everyone stashes their packed bags into the storage compartment before hopping on. 

Jongin sits in front beside the driver after realizing that all the seats at the back have already been taken. His eyes automatically search for Chanyeol, spotting him sitting closer to the back, too far away to actually chat with. Jongin’s shoulders slump a little but Chanyeol looks up in that moment and catches his eye, his face lighting up. Startled, Jongin flounders for a moment before smiling and Chanyeol’s whole face breaks into a wide grin, waving at him. His attention is pulled away when Seulgi and Jinyoung tug at his arm and he breaks the gaze, turning to focus on them. Sighing, Jongin turns and settles back into his seat, content to just listen to the loud ruckus behind him, pleased that the rest of the staff seem excited. He’ll get his chance to mingle with them when they get to place he’s booked.

It’s a few hours drive to get there, already late in the morning when they arrive, and the first thing they do is settle into their rooms with the keys Jongin hands them. He lugs his bag to his own room, peering out through the window to see the beginnings of the seaside in the distance. He cracks the window open, inhaling the fresh air happily, smelling the salty scent. Jongin starts unpacking his things, hastily changing into a fresh set of clothes before setting out again to find the landlord again to make the arrangements for food later. 

They reconvene in an hour on the open grassy plain a short way from their rooms and Jongin meets them there, ready to get the activities started. He’d brainstormed this with Jongdae back in the office when they were still making the arrangements, searching for tips online on what to actually do on a company retreat. A lot of it sounded way too corporate, much like a training camp which Jongin certainly wasn’t going for. It’s been a busy few weeks and everyone’s worked extremely hard to make ends meet and keep within the deadlines. This retreat is just meant to be more of a company break together, to just wind down and let out some steam.

They split themselves into two teams, figuring they’d divide themselves by sales and marketing versus accounting and finance. Jongin automatically gets a free pass at a team of his choosing and he tries to plant himself nonchalantly in Chanyeol’s team, pointedly avoiding Jongdae’s eye.

The day starts off with a round of dodgeball and Byulyi props up a scoreboard split into two columns to keep track of each team’s wins. Jongin made sure to promise a grand prize for the winning team, to incite some more motivation into the games. 

Baekhyun takes the first shot and Jongin wonders if he even needed to motivate them with a prize at all, leaping out of the way when it nearly hurtles right into him. There’s another handful of near misses but Jongin somehow manages to scuttle away in time to get clear until soon it’s just him and Chanyeol still left in the game, against Minho and Baekhyun. He’s not sure he liked the glint in Minho’s eyes when he picks up the ball for his turn. 

Taking his aim, Minho smashes the ball right in Chanyeol’s gut, roaring triumphantly as Chanyeol slinks off to the side, giving Jongin an encouraging pat on the shoulder before he goes. The loud cheers from his team standing on the sides, yelling his name, spur him on and Jongin grabs the ball. They go back and forth at it for a while after Jongin knocks Baekhyun out. Minho nearly gets him in the back a few times but Jongin spins out of the way in time, seemingly trapped in a deadlock until he finally manages to catch Minho in the knee with the ball. 

Everyone standing on the sides yells and Jongin’s whole team comes running up to him, yanking him into a giant hug. He finds himself pressed up against Chanyeol’s chest with the others closing in around him on every other side, jumping up and down gleefully. Jongin grins happily, cheering along with them at their first victory.

They spend the rest of the afternoon going through a series of more competitive games and races against each other until they’re too exhausted to move another muscle. Jongin heaves himself up to usher them all over for a late lunch, his mouth watering at the sight of the giant spread of food the landlord has prepared for them. There seemed to be a general consensus that everyone would bring along their own stash of booze to share around, all of them hollering loudly when Baekhyun unloads an entire cooler of beer cans. Jongin can still sense a hint of awkwardness in the air around him, since the others actually waited for his signal before even touching the alcohol at all. At least they let loose around him when they’re tipsy, so that’s a start.

“Awwww, the soju’s finished,” Baekhyun pouts, clearly a inebriated as he pokes at one of the empty bottles standing on the table and accidentally knocks it over. As if on cue, the others whine about their drinks being finished too and Jongin gets to his feet, patting his pockets to make sure his wallet is there.

“Who wants more booze?” he addresses everyone else at the table. He’s met with a round of loud cheering, happily chanting his name and slurring praises at him as though he’d offered them paradise itself. 

Beaming, Jongin takes off to find the car he’d rented from the landlord for their stay, yanking the keys out from his pocket. 

“Hey, wait up!”

Jongin stops in his tracks, turning to see Chanyeol running to catch up to him. 

“Mind if I tag along?” Chanyeol asks hopefully. “Figured you might need a hand. And some company?”

Jongin grins at him gratefully, leading the way to where the car is parked. It’s only a twenty minute ride down to the closest village and Jongin turns on the radio, letting Chanyeol flip through the channels before settling on something. 

“God this actually reminds me of one of the tenants I met last weekend,” Chanyeol remarks, turning the volume up a little higher. “He came to the door completely naked and dancing to this song.”

Jongin guffaws loudly, trying to picture Chanyeol’s face at that. He hasn’t had to go apartment hunting since he was in college, something which he is wholly thankful for.

“None of them seem like any good,” Chanyeol sighs when Jongin pulls up into the car park at the village, a corner away from the confectionery. Jongin pats him sympathetically as they head into the store. 

Jongin walks through the aisles of shelves stacked with liquor, grabbing arm armful of soju bottles and throws in some bottles of wine too. Chanyeol nods in approval at his choice of wine, flashing him a cheerful thumbs up when Jongin shows him the label of the white wine he’d picked up. The girl behind the counter rings up his things and Chanyeol throws in some bags of m&ms and a couple of chocolate bars for good measure. 

“I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth,” he admits sheepishly and Jongin snorts as he pays for the stash they’ve accumulated. 

It’s already getting dark when they’re making their way back up the path they came down from. There’s still a bit of road to go, completely deserted now that they’re driving through a more remote area, surrounded by trees on either side that are shadowed in darkness. 

Chanyeol is cracking jokes about having to shower in the office bathroom once his lease is terminated and Jongin laughs. 

“You know, if you don’t find anything before it’s up, you could just stay with me for a while,” he says without thinking, only half joking.

Chanyeol snaps his head up, gaping at him and Jongin nearly swallows his tongue when he realizes what he’s saying, floundering to try and gloss over it. Just as he opens his mouth, the car makes a sudden loud rattling sound right before it belches out a cough and breaks down completely. 

“The hell-” Jongin twists the key in the ignition again and the engine wheezes weakly before snuffing out again. Groaning, he drops his head on the steering wheel, desperately twisting the key again to no avail. 

“Of all days,” he grumbles under his breath. 

“Got places to be?” Chanyeol jokes, like they’re not in the middle of what should be a relaxing retreat. 

Jongin narrows his eyes at him before sighing again, slumping back in his seat. 

“I guess I was just trying to make a good impression on the others,” he says, deciding to just come out with it. Chanyeol blinks at him, confused. 

“Everyone gets so uncomfortable around me because I’m the boss, I thought this retreat would be the perfect opportunity for them to...like me,” he trails off lamely, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Oh,” Chanyeol says, and Jongin can see a smile twisting the corners of his mouth, flushing in embarrassment. “I had no idea you were worried about something like that.”

“I know, it’s lame.”

“No, I mean, it’s just that you really don’t have to worry so much about that,” Chanyeol says seriously. “You’re already pretty amazing.” 

Jongin heart somersaults in his chest and a thick silence falls between them as he holds Chanyeol’s gaze, lost for words. The car picks that moment to cough out another dying sputter, effectively breaking the spell and Chanyeol slips out to pop the hood, trying to figure out what’s wrong with the engine. 

Jongin tries his phone in the meantime, groaning when he realizes there’s no cell service out here. There no one else around for miles either.

“Hey, can you give me a hand with the flashlight?” Chanyeol calls and Jongin slips the phone back into his pocket, climbing out of the driver’s seat to join him by the hood. He takes the flashlight from Chanyeol’s hand, holding it up to shine the light over the engine while Chanyeol leans over it, trying to figure out where the problem is. 

“You’ve done this before?” Jongin asks curiously, swallowing when Chanyeol pulls his hoodie off over his head, revealing the fitted tank top underneath. He tries not to ogle his biceps, covered with a light sheen of sweat. 

“I used to help my dad with his car when I was a kid,” Chanyeol says, leaning down to tug at some of the fuses in the engine. “Still remember a thing or two. Okay try it now.”

Jongin leans back into the driver’s seat to turn the key in the ignition. The car shudders for a moment, wheezing like it’s about to go off again but then it works and the engine revs up properly. 

Cheering, Jongin steps out to high five Chanyeol, waiting till he’s slammed the hood shut again before clapping him on the shoulder. He swallows when he feels the muscles move, firm and toned under his palm. His hand lingers a little too long and Jongin snaps it away quickly. 

Thankfully, it’s a smooth ride back up to their rooms and Jongin parks the car back where he’d found it.  
“We’ll have to save these for tomorrow, I suppose,” Jongin sighs at the stash of booze sitting in the back seat. Most of the others must have gone back to their rooms by now. 

“I’m sure they’ll be just as pleased to know that we won’t be running out of alcohol then,” Chanyeol chuckles, climbing out of the car and patting down his pockets. He frowns, turning them inside out and checking his back pockets too. “Oh, _crap_.”

“What’s wrong?” Jongin asks, concerned. 

“I, uh,” Chanyeol flushes, rubbing the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. “I think I left my room key in my room.” 

“Ah.” The landlord is probably asleep by now, and Jongin would rather not wake him to trouble him for another copy of the key. There’s only one other option he can think of and Jongin doesn’t hesitate. “You could sleep in my room tonight.”

Chanyeol looks like he’s about to protest but Jongin cuts him off, insistently tugging him over to his room and Chanyeol finally gives in, looking relieved. 

Jongin takes a quick shower, throwing on an old pair of sweats and a t-shirt before letting Chanyeol use it, offering to lend him a set of clothes to sleep in, despite being a little too small for him. It takes a lot of effort not to snicker when Chanyeol comes out of the bathroom with the hem of his pants flapping high over his ankles. 

There’s only one bed in the room but Jongin refuses to let Chanyeol sleep on the cold, hard floor. Eventually, Chanyeol concedes and lies down on one side of the mattress gingerly. Jongin only realizes he’s been holding his breath when he starts to get a little lightheaded.

“Bet this’ll make a good story for the office,” Jongin tries weakly and Chanyeol actually laughs, the mattress shaking underneath him. 

“Well, if you want some good office stories,” Chanyeol starts, promptly sitting up again and crossing his legs underneath him instead. “Did you hear about the prank Baekhyun and Taehyung played on Jackson?”

Intrigued, Jongin sits up with him, lugging over the bag of chocolate he’d brought with him from the car and tosses one to Chanyeol. Neither of them are sleepy anyway, and Jongin is all too happy to just listen to Chanyeol tell him all about the shenanigans the staff gets up to in the office. He gapes when Chanyeol goes into the secret office relationships going on that he’d never even noticed, though he’s pleased that he can come back with one of his own. 

“Jongdae’s got the biggest crush on Baekhyun,” he says, biting a giant hunk off from his chocolate bar. It’s not too hard to get them in the same room together time and time again when Jongin keeps scheduling meetings with the sales group and drags Jongdae with him to take down the minutes. He conveniently picks the smallest conference room too so Jongdae inevitably winds up sitting somewhere close to Baekhyun more often than not. It’s great seeing the tables turned like this, not that Jongin says that to Chanyeol. 

“See! I told you, you’re a great boss,” Chanyeol grins at him. “We’re all lucky to have you.”

Jongin flushes, feeling a bubble of happiness rise in his chest to hear it. They both pointedly avoid mentioning each other in their stories about everyone else’s relationships and Jongin swallows dryly when a heavy silence falls between them. Thinking quickly, he grabs the remote control off the nightstand and flicks the TV on, settling on a channel showing reruns of an old comedy show he recognizes. 

It’s enough to fill the room with a comfortable volume of noise and Jongin relaxes again, instinctively clapping his hands on Chanyeol’s shoulder as he cracks up at funny bits of the show. Chanyeol grabs him back in turn, wheezing with laughter and they have to keep reminding each other to keep it down or they’ll wake everyone else up with the noise they’re making. 

Jongin settles back more comfortably against his pillow, and Chanyeol extends himself down on the other side of the bed, keeping his head propped up on his arm to keep watching the show. 

They’re heading into the early hours of the morning by now, with only a couple left before they need to get up again and Chanyeol starts to doze off. Jongin turns off the TV and listens to Chanyeol’s breathing slowing down steadily as he falls asleep. He doesn’t try to keep his eyes open, finally falling asleep himself after a long day.

 

Jongin wakes up feeling a little too hot. He blinks the sleep away from his eyes and notes with a start that he’s not even on his side of the bed anymore. At some point during the night he’d managed to roll over right onto Chanyeol’s chest, tucked into his side. He registers the weight on his side and finds Chanyeol’s arm thrown snugly over his waist. Jongin stops himself from gasping, taking a few more seconds to actually get his head straight and figure out a way to get out of the hold without waking Chanyeol. While he’s mulling over it, it hits him that he actually feels pretty warm and comfortable; he almost lets himself settle down a little longer but just then, Chanyeol sighs in his sleep and Jongin makes up his mind. He tries to move, rolling over slowly and slipping out of his grip quickly when he finds an opening. Chanyeol groans and rolls over into the warm spot on the sheets that Jongin just left, settling down again. Jongin cracks a smile, reaching down to brush Chanyeol’s unruly hair away from his face, feeling the soft strands between his fingers. He sighs again and Jongin yanks his hand away, realizing what he’s doing. Pulling away completely, he slips into the bathroom and ducks under the hot spray of the shower.

When he finally emerges, the bed is empty and Chanyeol is gone. Jongin sighs and gets dressed quickly, smoothing down his hair down before heading out. He almost bowls right into Chanyeol, who’s waiting for him outside, now fully dressed and holding the folded pile of the borrowed clothes in his hands. 

“Oh. Hi,” Jongin says, surprised to actually see him there.

“Morning,” Chanyeol smiles, handing the clothes off to him. “I went to ask the landlord for another copy of my key so I wouldn’t make you late.” 

Jongin nods, tossing the clothes inside before locking the door again and turns back to him. “Ready to win again, today?”

Chanyeol grins. 

 

The scoreboard is wiped clean for today’s games and they split up into the same teams from the day before. They start off with a game of baseball this time. Jongin gets tugged tugged into the group huddle, squashed in between Jackson and Wonshik, who’s got an arm over his shoulder to close him into the circle, throwing him an easy grin which Jongin gladly returns. He can sense a small shift in the way the rest of the staff act around him, thumping on his back more readily and losing most of the honorifics with him that helps them just chat more easily. Seulgi comes up to him and rams a baseball cap onto his head, pushing the bat into his hand and nudges him a step forward to the batting spot. 

Jongin walks over to his spot obediently, passing by Chanyeol who’s smiling at him, and in the heat of the moment, he gives him a daring pat on the butt, hearing the way Chanyeol chokes out a startled laugh. 

It stretches out into a long, tense game where they’re neck and neck with equal points. In the end, Jongin’s team loses by one point but he’s determined to get his team back up on top for the next game, which turns out to be a traditional three legged race. Chanyeol yanks him close by the wrist with a grin, tying their ankles together and Jongin laughs, already starting to wobble off balance. 

Soojung and Byulyi are the first couple to take off for their team and Jongin steps up to the line beside Chanyeol in preparation. He hooks his arm around Chanyeol’s neck and feels Chanyeol winding his own around Jongin’s shoulders easily, steadying them together. The girls round the checkpoint swiftly and dash back to the line, steering clear for Jongin to take off, falling perfectly in step with Chanyeol. Baekhyun and Taehyung are hot on their heels on their own side of the track, quickly starting to catch up to them. They round the bench marking the checkpoint and start making their way back to where their team is waiting, shrieking eagerly at them to hurry. Chanyeol shifts his arm, moving it down to wrap around Jongin’s waist instead, squeezing lightly with the movement of their steps. The change presses Jongin closer into the side of Chanyeol’s chest, reminding him of the position he’d found himself in when he woke up that morning. He nearly stumbles at the thought, but manages to keep his balance, speeding up to the finally cross the finish line and let the next couple go. 

Laughing breathlessly, Jongin gets down on one knee to undo the ties around their ankles and Chanyeol crouches down next to him to help, breathing in his space with a quiet chuckle. 

“Not bad, huh?” he says, looking pleased with himself. 

Jongin laughs and rolls his eyes, accepting Chanyeol’s high five and lets him pull him back to his feet. 

It’s a close one, each team winning points for their own after every game, but Jongin’s team eventually comes out of top at the end and the rest of his team piles on top of him cheering and jumping gleefully. 

Elated, Jongin offers to treat them all to a steak dinner and they all cheer even louder. The bottles of soju he bought for them the night before are cleaned out in a matter of minutes as the chatter grows progressively louder and more rowdy. Jongin shrugs and downs his own drink, figuring they should all let loose a little longer to enjoy their last day here. Chanyeol catches his eye over the rim of his cup from the other side of the table and even though Jongin can’t see his mouth, he can tell that Chanyeol’s flashing him a smile. 

 

The bus comes back for them bright and early the next morning and everyone piles into it, grumpy and sleepy at the early hour. Jongin chuckles, hearing Jongdae mutter something about his entire body feeling sore. He notices with interest that he’s got an arm hooked around Baekhyun’s shoulders, making a note to grill him about that later. 

There’s only one empty seat left when Jongin finally gets on the bus, right next to Chanyeol and he settles into with a smile. Chanyeol is bleary eyed and groggy, offering a lopsided grin in turn as the bus starts up the engine and pulls out onto the street. 

It’s a quiet ride for the most part; everyone is still too tired from the hectic couple of days they’ve spent here. Chanyeol dozes off almost immediately, his head lolling from side to side and Jongin worries he might smash into the glass window but then the bus lurches and his head lands heavily right on his shoulder. Chuckling, Jongin pats his hair gently, shifting slowly so that his head is not sitting uncomfortably on the sharp ball of his shoulder. He tries to stay awake himself, but doesn’t quite manage it, his eyes drooping heavily until he stops fighting it and falls asleep too.

 

▸

 

It’s hard coming back to work after a break like that but the office falls back into its usual routine soon enough. They have another week of tight deadlines ahead of them so the office is already bustling with activity. Jongin can see the difference though, after he crosses the office to get to the kitchen and gets caught up in at least three different conversations before he makes it. Everyone seems a lot more chatty with him, throwing him easy, friendly smiles and the occasional shoulder pat as though an entire wall has been lifted between them. Maybe he should take them on company retreats more often. 

The air changes every time he’s in a room alone with Chanyeol though, the tension weighing it down almost palpable at this point. Jongin keeps running into him everywhere, more than he ever used to before. Even after their usual meetings in the conference room, Chanyeol is the last to leave the room, brushing up close to him before getting to the door to leave. 

It doesn’t stop there; they keep getting cornered in other places alone together, blanketed by a heavy layer of tension that settles over them each time. It feels like a moment keeps building between them until someone inadvertently walks in on them at the very last second and shatters the spell.

At one point they end up catching the elevator together too, when Chanyeol slides in right before the doors close to take them to the office floor. Jongin starts to wonder how much of this is coincidence anymore, realizing that he unconsciously searches for Chanyeol himself too. 

“Morning,” Jongin offers, feeling inexplicably breathless. Chanyeol smiles at him in greeting, slipping out of his jacket and the movement brings him inches closer, his arm almost pressed right up against Jongin’s. Jongin turns to look at him, unable to tear himself away when Chanyeol catches his eye and his heart wedges itself in his throat. 

The loud ding of the bell startles them apart and the spell breaks when the doors slide open at their floor. Jongin can’t tell for sure if he’s just imagining the frustrated expression on Chanyeol’s face when he leaves.

 

Jongin emerges from the conference room after another meeting, closing the door behind him when he steps into his office again. He sighs, not even sure how he managed to concentrate at all with Chanyeol staring at him the entire time. He rubs his hand over his hot neck, loosening his tie. 

The door behind him swings open and Jongin turns in time to see Chanyeol closing the door behind him and locking it. 

“Fuck it,” he says, marching right up to Jongin, backing him up against his table, and kisses him. Jongin gasps into it, taken aback but melts into it easily, grappling at Chanyeol’s arms to hold on and kiss him back, licking in deeper. His lips are soft against his own and Jong can feel the vibrations in his chest when Chanyeol hums. 

He breaks off mid kiss and Jongin whines, leaning forward to try and capture his lips again. 

“Look,” Chanyeol gasps, his lips rosy red and his hair dishevelled under Jongin’s wandering hands. “I’ve liked you for a long time and I realize this is really sudden but-”

“Me too, _god_ , Chanyeol, me too,” Jongin says in a rush, tugging Chanyeol back to press their mouths together and Chanyeol shuts up, focusing on just kissing Jongin senseless. His heart is thundering almost painfully, his chest ballooning at Chanyeol’s confession, however short and rushed it was. Chanyeol’s hands slip down along Jongin’s thighs and he hoists him up onto his table, scattering all the documents aside. Jongin laughs into the kiss, feeling reckless with the rest of the staff just outside within earshot. 

“So, my lame charm actually won you over?” Jongin grins against his lips and Chanyeol kisses his lower lip. 

“You’re not lame,” Chanyeol insist, kissing him again. “You’re…”

He kisses Jongin again like he can’t help it, not bothering with words anymore and Jongin doesn’t protest, cupping Chanyeol’s face in his hands to steady him and deepen the kiss. 

A sudden knock on the door snaps them apart and Jongdae’s voice filters through the door. 

“Hey Jongin, when you’re done sucking face, there’s a call for you on line 1.”

Somewhere behind him there’s a sudden burst of applause and Jongin distinctly hears someone yelling ‘ _finally_ ’. He flushes all the way down to his chest, hit by the sudden realization that he’s probably not nearly as subtle as he thought he was. 

Chanyeol takes a step back, leaning in for one more kiss before moving out of his reach. 

“I’ll leave you to it then,” he hums and the look in his eyes makes Jongin ache but Chanyeol is already unlocking the door, leaving his office. 

Jongin takes a moment to get his breath back, smiling giddily to himself as he smoothes down his tie and answers his phone.


End file.
